News

England U21 Squad Success

Rhea Dixon and Olivia leach, both Surrey based players have been selected for the England U21 squad to tour Australia this July.

Coaching Opportunities

Hello and welcome to the netball coaching family in London and the South East!

As the Surrey and South West London Netball Development Officer I am not only here to support Netball across the county but also here to support you in your coaching journey.

I know there are many of you out there that are coaching every spare second you can to get more people playing netball more often, which is fantastic! However, if you are looking for more ways to get involved then there are always coaching opportunities in Surrey that I can link you up to, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Opportunities include coaching at Back to Netball sessions, Club sessions, Satellite Club sessions, one off events and many more!

We also run a number of coaching workshops to help keep you sharp and up to date with practices. These workshops can give you new ideas for sessions you will be running. We can also keep you in the loop with any funding opportunities should you wish to progress your coaching.

We’ll add you to our coaching contacts list but if you wish to be taken off this at any time please drop me and email.

If you are interested in hearing more please contact Jessica Edwards Surrey and South West London Netball Development Officer on 07738 696857 or jessica.edwards@englandnetball.co.uk .

Remember to follow on Twitter and on Facebook for updates and general netball chit-chat!

Funding Opportunities for Coaching in the UK

Click Here to download the Interactive PDF on the Funding Opportunities that are now available for coaching in the UK.

RACHEL BYRNE – WINNER OF THE NATIONAL TEACHER OF YEAR AWARD 2013

An Assistant director of Sport at Guildford High School, Rachel is described as an exceptional PE teacher and sports coach. In 2013 all three age group teams from the school represented their region at the National Schools Finals and the U14s went on to be crowned champions. Rachel is also a very active member of the SCNA Schools Netball committee and has taken on responsibility for delivering local schools’ leagues and fixtures. Rachel Byrne, whose name was Legg before marrying recently also won the Surrey Lions Award for Teacher of the Year in 2012.

National Rose Award from England Netball

Kate Keepax has been awarded the National Rose Award from England Netball for her ground breaking initiative bringing netball into HMP Bronzefield. What Kate has achieved has broken down social boundaries and put some women on a road to redemption. Kate is a player and first team captain at Weybridge Vandals Netball Club part of Weybridge Vandals R.F.C. Following a chance conversation with one of the rugby boys, Paul Wyllie, a prison officer, Kate had the idea of taking netball into HMP Bronzefield volunteering to go in and coach. Initially this was extremely intimidating and took lots of courage! Kate had the vision to go into a totally alien environment and bring netball to a group of women in a prison; women serving time for various offences. Many people would not have even entertained the notion but Kate saw an opportunity to bring the sport that she is passionate about to this group and the results for many have been truly life changing. Kate’s visits started in November 2011 initially working with between 10 – 15 women. Kate’s coaching sessions proved popular and participation increased. It soon became clear there was a need for competitive matches. Kate organised Vandals girls to go in to play or officiate. A name was needed and the Allstars brand launched, with kit and equipment a team identity was born. Kate initiated other local clubs to go in to the prison for competitive matches culminating in August 2012 when she organised a successful tournament with 6 other local clubs participating. In the past year numbers increased and Allstars now boast 2 squads with around 20 women training weekly. Netball is structured so new players feed a development squad and compete for team places. Paul Wyllie has been inspired to qualify as a Level 1 coach and is working towards Level 2 and umpiring qualifications.

The wider implications are that all participants have had to question their own prejudices and judgements and barriers have been broken. Netball does cross boundaries and has also had beneficial side effects for the prisoners themselves. Women serving sentences for substance abuse learned that in order to compete they needed to look after their physical bodies and netball provides the incentive to remain healthy and clear of harmful substances. The women have built up their skill base, learning technical aspects of the game as well as the psychological benefits of working as a team, enjoying success and winning, leading to enhanced self confidence and increased self esteem; All positives to take with them on the outside, and which will hopefully lead to a reduction in reoffending. The long term aim at HMP Bronzefield is that via a project called ‘Through the gate’ the women will continue to play netball in their community when they leave. In the future the prison hopes to provide day release for women to gain umpiring and coaching qualifications. Paul Wyllie, a prison officer, has been inspired by Kate to pursue an active interest in netball and gain qualifications. Hopefully other prison officers will follow suite leading to high quality netball provision within the prison environment.

Sport England Increases Investment in Netball

I am delighted to announce that Sport England has confirmed that it will increase its investment in England Netball to £25.3 million for 2013/17 representing a staggering increase of 35%. This is an outstanding award and a real recognition of the journey we have all been on over the last four years. We have built a reputation and a track record as a top performing sport and the scale of this investment demonstrates Sport England`s confidence that we will continue to grow and flourish as a sport.This success has been as a result of a new innovative approach we have adopted that puts the netballer at the centre of everything we do. We have started to develop different initiatives and products that fit with what players want, whether they are returning to the sport or looking to be England players of the future. We know that it is important that playing netball fits with players lifestyles so that netball is a sport for life!As a consequence, our Netball 10:1:1 ambition has just taken a giant step closer as this investment will allow us to build on our success and create a sport that we can all say we are proud to be a part of.The media coverage has been amazing – TV, radio and the press. It has put netball very firmly in the spotlight, which is great for the profile and status of the game, our credibility as a sport and our attractiveness to commercial partners, which is just brilliant for Netball.This has been an exceptional team effort and everyone, staff members and volunteers, have played a part in this success. I feel proud and privileged to be part of such a passionate and committed team, so thank you.Celebrate the good news and enjoy Christmas, because come the new year we will have to continue to work hard to justify Sport England`s confidence and match our own expectations.This is an exciting day for our sport – thank you and congratulations.Paul ClarkChief Executive OfficerAll England Netball Association